|
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on 31 August 2007 between the OECD and China’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MOLSS) in order to carry out research and policy analysis on private pensions in China. The agreement ultimately aims at developing an occupational pension system in China (called Enterprise Annuities), whose benefits will complement the relatively low pensions that workers receive from the public system.
Over recent years, OECD and MOLSS have already been actively engaged in several projects on private pension issues. For instance, in 2006-2007 a series of meetings and visits were conducted in Beijing, advising MOLSS on China’s first legislation on collective pension funds (CPFs). CPFs - occupational pension funds that cover the employees of more than one employer (enterprise) - have been operating in OECD countries for decades, but still face many challenges in China. The project’s final report indentified good practices in CPFs that operate in both OECD countries and non-OECD economies and proposed policy recommendations to the Chinese authorities to extend pension fund coverage to small companies, which account for the bulk of employment in the country.
The MOU engages the two Parties in policy dialogue via meetings and conferences in order to facilitate the exchange of research and good practices regarding the operation and regulation of occupational pension systems. Future projects with MOLSS in the coming year are being planned to focus on pension fund governance and pension fund investment issues.
In the framework of its work on collaboration with non-OECD member economies, the OECD Financial Affairs Division is seeking additional partners from both the public and the private sectors. Therefore, should your organisations be interested and need more information about the China programme, please contact Yu-Wei Hu in the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at +33 1 45 24 87 19 or yu-wei.hu@oecd.org.
|
